Forum Palermo - Sicily

Описание: This week we skated into The Forum Palermo Mall which opened in 2009. This is the largest mall in Western Sicily perfectly nestled between natural beauty. Outside are postcard-like mountain views (looking one direction) as the other direction is the Tyrrhenian Sea, just a few blocks away.

You can basically consider this mall a one stop shop as it includes a massive supermarket, a cinema, a great food court (w/numerous restaurants), a hardware store (adjacent to the property) and your standard mall tenants (i.e., fashion, electronics, housewares, home goods and various service offerings) .

One thing which did confuse me was (with all the amazing local food) every KFC I've seen here is always jam packed. I don't get it as maybe these are newer locations as there was a huge line to place your order today.

This mall hosts over 120 modern and trendy banners. They also have public transit as the local tram will scoop you up in the city center and brings you (almost to the mall front door) for only a few Euros. They also offer EV charging stations along with solar panels covering many of their parking spots.

I will say this mall was hopping (as I cruised thru) as I understand Palermo receives @ 700,000 visitors per month. I had no idea Palermo was this big as the local stats indicate a local population of 850,000 residents.

With Palermo being recognized as one of the most conquered cities (in Europe) and having the largest number of UNESCO sites, this island exudes history. Finding this retail nugget in a historical melting pot of architectural and design styles, adds a touch of today. The property was intentionally designed with three entrance points (w/different themes) to identify the different local landing points in the area (i.e., the Fashion Square, the Village Square and the Piazza dell 'Water). They've done a great job utilizing local materials, stone and color selections throughout to connect with the Sicilian landscape just outside.

Hope everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving (in the US) as we won't see any of those fixings over here. Stay tuned as we only have a few weeks remaining here in Europe. Then I'll jet down to Brazil to close out this rock star year.

Enjoy the Fall as we'll catch ya next week.

Your Retail Nomad in Sicily